Opportunities and risks

Three every four children and adolescents in Europe surf the web, and figures continue to grow, while younger children access the web for the first time. According to the findings of Eurobarometer, in 2005 70% of minors in the EU surfed the web, while in 2008 figures reached 75%, mostly involving younger children. Accordingly, 60% of those aged 6 to 10 are online. Cultural, contextual and risks related to children’s safe use of the internet was the object of the 2006/2009 research project EU Kids online (www.eukidsonline.net), funded by Safer internet plus programme and coordinated by Sonia Livingstone from the London School of Economics. Having concluded the first project, EU Kids online was launched. The empirical research scheduled for the period 2009/11 will involve nationwide samples of youth aged 9-16, together with a mapping of parents’ experiences. This will provide an empirical, quantitative and rigorous basis comparable across Member States, on the Internet use in Europe. Safe Internet programme. EU Kids online has set up research groups across 21 European Countries (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom) to examine all existing survey on children’s use of the web. Researchers said that the ensuing data is meant to provide material for the development of recommendations for safe internet use. The picture that emerged varies from one country to the next. Germany, the United Kingdom and Denmark devote to the issue major attention while Cyprus, Bulgaria, Poland, Iceland, Ireland and Slovenia do not. Accurate analysis was made of internet access and use while flaws were registered as relates to a specific risks involving younger children and the use of new platform, such as mobile phones and online games. In those Countries marked by a larger use of the Internet among the youth the media play a crucial role in rising awareness, but focus is placed on the risk rather than on the opportunities. Almost two thirds of all published news relate to the risks, less than a fifth regard opportunities. The risks of the Internet. “E-Inclusion policies” are mostly “addressed to adults”, pointed out Sonia Livingstone in the Conclusions of the project, and “When they address children, the focus is usually on schools”, while “home access” ought to be monitored. At the same time, a better use of the Internet is directly proportionate to the social and economic status. The survey highlights that children from low-income families are more exposed to online risks. Risks “are rather the same across Europe”. The research has found that large proportions of children “are encountering, often accidentally, violent, pornographic content” and risk meeting “off-line, those people whom they met online and that “online victims may also be the perpetrators (as is the case of cyber-bullying)”. Girls appear to be more vulnerable and upset by “exposure to offensive, violent and pornographic content”, they tend “to chat more with strangers, are more exposed to sexual abuse but they are also more aware of protection of privacy”. Meeting in person a stranger met online, however infrequent, is the most dangerous risk.Parental responsibility. A unanimous approach in addressing the risks is lacking. “There are those who ignore the problem, those who need to ascertain the reliability of a website and report it, those who talk about it with a friend, or (rarely) with a parent, or those who decide to emphasize the problem by responding with hostility”. On the part of the parents, the findings of the 2008 Eurobarometer survey is reason for concern, especially among those living in Countries where the number of child-internauts is low (France, Portugal, Spain and Greece). Furthermore, the parents who are themselves Internet users are less worried that those who don’t use it. Promoting Internet use among parents is a good way of reducing anxiety. Furthermore, “cultural dimension and values are extremely important”, and like most media, parents report several strategies to mediate their children’s online activity. These range from the imposition of rules and restrictions to relational approaches (surfing with children, sharing online content, speaking about the internet with their children) and using technical tools such as filters.